Per baseball’s top insiders a new CBA is nowhere near close. With spring training scheduled to begin in mid-February talks must increase in finding a middle ground in order to prevent delaying the season.
There are still five main talking points on the table between the sides, including minimum salary, arbitration and pre-arbitration bonus pools, luxury tax, draft lottery, and service-time manipulation.
Last week minimum salary was one of the topics discussed between MLB and the MLBPA. The players wanted to see the minimum salary raised from $570,500 to $775,000. The owners were also for a raise but less substantial. MLB owners want to see the minimum salary start at $615,000 for first year players. $650,000 in their second year, and $700,000 in their third year.
There was also discussion concerning arbitration and pre-arbitration salaries based on WAR. The players already dropped their request for earlier free agency in exchange for the concept of a pre-arbitration bonus pool with the size to be negotiated. The sides couldn’t be farther apart. The MLBPA wants a bonus pool of $105 million. The owners want $10 million – the amount Edwin Diaz will make this season – spread across the hundreds eligible.
The luxury tax, or competitive-balance tax, is a main goal of the union to find a plan that prevents teams from purposefully tanking. They believe that it limits salary growth. MLB owners have seen increasing revenues and team valuations through the years. Only one champion since 2015, the Kansas City Royals, ranked in the bottom half of team revenues. The threshold was set to slow the spending of the top revenue franchises but it’s done little to deter teams like the Yankees and Dodgers at all.
It’s possible a draft lottery could come to MLB in the coming seasons. Both sides would include all non-playoff teams in the lottery but the sides differ on what picks are up for grabs. The league wants only the top three available in the lottery while the union wants the top eight. The problem that arises with the plan is not the number of picks but bonus picks awarded to small-market teams for performance. Things as an extra selection for making the postseason or having an over .500 record.
Lastly, service-time manipulation has been a hot-buttoned issue ever since Kris Bryant debuted with the Cubs in 2015. The union wants players awarded a year of service time for finishing in certain awards and bWAR and fWAR rankings. The league is looking at the same but the reward is for teams to receive a draft pick instead that would be no higher than No. 31. The incentive in MLBs plan is it only applies to prospects in a mutually agreed-upon top 100 pool heading into that season and not all rookies like the MLBPA wants it.
The players are looking for significant change while the owners want everything to stay the same. Looks like these negotiations are going to need a few more pots of coffee to get done. Hopefully they can agree before March.
